Monday, 26 March 2007

1.My Life As Emperor

Gentle reader,

Before I say anything about what currently I'm reading, I should tell you why I've created this blog.

I like books a lot. I'm never not reading a book. Never. Usually I read novels, but sometimes I break out and try some non-fiction or drama. (Drama's a hard one for me right now as I study drama. Speaking of study/work, I'll only be listing books I read for fun on this site.)

I've been asked by many people over the years how many books I read per year and I have no idea. So, I've started this blog to keep track (somebody remind me when March 26, 2008 rolls around, please), and to give a little feedback on said books for the maybe 2 people who will read this site...

So.....drum roll, please.

Book number one is: Su Tong's My Life As Emperor.

I'm not quite done this one (about 30 pages left), but I have to say that while it is a good read (and a fast one), it's not as good as Su Tong's Rice. Both books portray a cast of characters who are entirely despicable and unredeemable, but somehow Rice does so in a more compelling way.

In the introduction the author wrote, he expresses his desire to be as prolific as possible. He may be succeeding, but I wonder if success in that area is compromising his creativity, and forcing him to write variations on the same characters over and over again?